符号学基本概念简介

什么是符号？Whatisasign?AsPeirceseesit,Asign,orrepresentamen,issomethingwhichstandstosomebodyforsomethinginsomerespectorcapacity.(CPvol.2:135)Asigncanbeverbalornon-verbal.thelinguisticsignis“thenatwo-sidedpsychologicalentity”,anditmayberepresentedbythefollowingdiagram.Figure2.1NatureoftheLinguisticSign(Saussure,1972,2001:67)ConceptSoundPattern能指与所指signifier&signified：Saussuremovesfurthertoexplain:“Inourterminologyasignisthecombinationofaconceptandasoundpattern.Butincurrentusagethetermsigngenerallyreferstothesoundpatternalone,e.g.thewordformarbor…theambiguitywouldberemovedifthethreenotionsinquestionweredesignatedbytermswhicharerelatedbutcontrast.Weproposetokeepthetermsigntodesignatethewhole,buttoreplaceconceptandsoundpatternrespectivelybysignificationandsignal.Thelattertermshavetheadvantageofindicatingthedistinctionwhichseparateseachfromtheotherandbothfromthewholeofwhichtheyarepart.”(1972,2001:67)Significationisthesenseofthesignwhichisthethingorideathesignrefersto,whilesignalistheform,inmostcasesthewrittenwords.Thetwoarerespectivelycalled‘signified’and‘signifier’laterbySaussure’sfollowers,forexampleRolandBarthes(1999).Signifiermayberegardedasthelinguisticformoflanguage,andsignifiedthecontent.Thedistinctionbetweensignifierandsignifiedrevealsthetwodimensionsoflanguage,namelythedimensionofexpressionandthedimensionofcontent.三项式关系（triadicrelation）：ARepresentamenistheFirstCorrelateofatriadicrelation,theSecondCorrelatebeingtermeditsObject,andthepossibleThirdCorrelatebeingtermeditsInterpretant.InPeirce’sview,triadicrelation,whichisformedbythreecorrelates,namelythesignasthefirstcorrelate,theobjectasthesecondcorrelateandtheinterpretantasthethirdcorrelate,istheessentialcharacteristicofsign.Thistriadicrelationcanbeexpressedindiagramasbelow:InterpretantSignObjectFigure4.2Triadicrelation(seeEco,1990:67)ThediagramistransformedtoillustratetheTheoryofSemanticTriangleco-establishedbyOgden,C.andRichards,I.A.Thebasicprincipleofthistheorycanbeexhibitedbyatriangle:Concept(Thought)(Symbolizes)(Refersto)Symbol(word)Referent(thing)(Standsfor)Figure4.3Semantictriangle(see王铭玉2001:42;Eco1990:67)皮尔士三分法Atrichotomyofsigns:icon,index,andsymbolPeircedividessignsbythreetrichotomies(laterhediscoveredtentrichotomiesandsixty-sixclassesofsigns).Firstly,intermsofthecharacteristicsofthesignitself,asignmaybeamerequality,anactualexistence,oragenerallaw;Secondly,intermsofrelation,signsaredividedaccordingastherelationofthesigntoitsobjectconsistsinthesign’shavingsomecharacterinitself,orinsomeexistentialrelationtothatobject,orinitsrelationtoaninterpretant;Thirdly,accordingasitsInterpretantrepresentsitasasignofpossibleorasasignoffactorasignofreason.Accordingtothesecondtrichotomy,aSignmaybetermedanIcon,anIndex,oraSymbol.1)ICON“AnIconisasignwhichreferstotheobjectthatitdenotesmerelybyvirtueofcharactersofitsown,andwhichitpossesses,justthesame,whetheranysuchObjectactuallyexistsornot”.(CPvol.2:143)Forinstance,map,picture,photosetc.areicons.Iconsassuchhavethesamecharacteristicsastheirobjects.2)INDEX“AnIndexisasignwhichreferstotheObjectthatitdenotesbyvirtueofbeingreallyaffectedbythatObject.……Itdoes,therefore,involveasortofIcon……”(CPvol.2:143).IfthesignbeanIndex,itcanbeconsideredasafragmenttornawayfromtheobject,therelationbetweenthesignandtheobjectistherelationbetweenthewholeandapart.Anindexremindsusoftheexistenceofitsobject.Forexample,thecontentsofabookmaybeconsideredastheindexofthebookitself.Anotherexampleisfootprint.Footprintonthesandsmayremindofpresenceofamanwhohaswalkedawayfromhere.3)SYMBOL“ASymbolisasignwhichreferstotheObjectthatitdenotesbyvirtueofalaw,usuallyanassociationofgeneralideas,whichoperatestocausethesymboltobeinterpretedasreferringtothatObject.Itisthusitselfageneraltypeorlaw,thatit,isaLegisign.……andthustheSymbolwillinvolveasortofIndex,…”(CPvol.2:144)Forinstance,pigeonisthesymbolofpeace,scalesarethesymbolofjustice.Symbolsstandfortheirobjectsbysocialandculturalconventions,forexample,theGreatWallsymbolizesChina,dragonalsosymbolizesChinabecausetheyareconventionallyconsideredso.什么是符号学？符号学的思想是在20世纪初由瑞士语言学家索绪尔（Saussure）首先提出的，在其《普通语言学教程》一书中写道：“我们可以设想有一门研究社会中符号生命的科学……我将把它叫做符号学。符号学将表明符号是由什么构成，符号受什么规律支配。因为这门科学还不存在，谁也说不出它将会是什么样子，但是它有存在的权利，它的地位预先已经确定了。”（索绪尔，1985：38）Whatissemiotics?Todefinethescience,Saussure(1857-1913)coinedtheterm‘semiology’.Whentalkingaboutthenatureoflanguage,hesays:Alanguageisasystemofsignsexpressingideas,andhencecomparabletowriting,thedeaf-and-dumbalphabet,symbolicrites,formsofpoliteness,militarysignals,andsoon.Itissimplythemostimportantofsuchsystems.Itisthereforepossibletoconceiveofasciencewhichstudiestheroleofsignsaspartofsociallife.Itwouldformpartofsocialpsychology,andhenceofgeneralpsychology.Weshallcallitsemiology.Itwouldinvestigatethenatureofsignsandthelawsgoverningthem.Sinceitdoesnotyetexist,onecannotsayforcertainthatitwillexist.Butithasarighttoexist,aplacereadyforitinadvance.Linguisticsisonlyonebranchofthisgeneralscience.(Saussure,1972,2001:15-16)符号学的发展（TheDevelopmentofSemiotics)：“符号学作为一门独立学科勃兴于60年